Jon Bernthal is back as the gun-touting vigilante in the gritty Disney+ special.

When does The Punisher: One Last Kill come out? Inside Frank Castle’s next blood-soaked rampage

Jon Bernthal is back as the gun-touting vigilante in the gritty Disney+ special.

By Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe is a timely SEO writer at **. She has been working at * *since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Distractify.

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April 13, 2026 8:00 a.m. ET

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Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher in 'The Punisher: One Last Kill'. Credit:

Marvel/Disney+

- *The Punisher: One Last Kill *follows Frank Castle as "an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight."

- Jon Bernthal told EW that it will showcase a "visceral, psychologically complex, unforgiving, no-holds-barred version of Frank."

- It premieres Tuesday, May 12, on Disney+.

You thought Frank Castle was done? That's cute.

Jon Bernthal will soon wreak havoc in *The Punisher: One Last Kill*, a Disney+ special built around the fan-favorite vigilante he first played on Netflix a decade ago. No reinvention, no soft reset — he's just picking up where he left off.

Following Bernthal's return as Castle in season 1 of *Daredevil: Born Again*, ** exclusively revealed that he would headline his own standalone special. "It's like a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story," said Brad Winderbaum, the head of Marvel Television.

What's coming looks bleak, violent, and utterly devastating. Below is everything we know about *The Punisher: One Last Kill*.

What is The Punisher: One Last Kill about?

Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher in 'The Punisher: One Last Kill'.

Marvel/Disney+

The official logline for *The Punisher: One Last Kill *reads, "As Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight."

Upon its announcement in February 2025, the special was likened to previous standalone Marvel projects like *Werewolf by Night* and *The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special*, both released in 2022. Winderbaum also confirmed to EW in December that the special interweaves with season 2 of *Daredevil: Born Again*, saying that it connects to the season's "time and place."

'The Punisher: One Last Kill' trailer brings back Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle

First look at Jon Bernthal as the Punisher in 'One Last Kill' Disney+ special

Bernthal cowrote the script with Reinaldo Marcus Green, who the actor previously worked with on HBO's *We Own This City.* Green is also behind the camera for the upcoming Punisher special.

Bernthal told EW separately that he was actively involved from the very beginning, taking a hands-on approach to developing the project before it was even written.

"I went through the process," he explained. "I went in, I pitched, I gave an outline before I even put pen to page, and I felt like I did not want them to just hand it to me. They had read some of my writing, asked to come and do a pitch, so I did. And they've held me accountable to every step along the way. I really want to earn this and I really want this to be good."

Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher in 'The Punisher: One Last Kill'.

Marvel/Disney+

He described the story as "really special," emphasizing that it's a "visceral, psychologically complex, unforgiving, no-holds-barred version of Frank," where the character actually turns "his back to the audience."

He continued, "And nothing is easy and all violence has a cost, and we're going to see that cost. I'm grateful that they're letting me go to the places that I really want to go."

Is there a trailer for The Punisher: One Last Kill?

The official trailer for *One Last Kill *dropped on April 9. It opens on Frank alone, haunted by ghosts and memories, specifically ones of his late daughter, Lisa Barbara Castle.

Jason R. Moore returns as Curtis Hoyle, the former Navy SARC-turned-PTSD support figure from Netflix's original *The Punisher* series. In a hallucination, he appears to Frank, urging him to "talk to me" and "tell me what's going on."**

Things ramp up fast. We see Frank back in action, jumping through fire, taking on armed enemies, and putting himself between danger and civilians without hesitation. The trailer ends with Frank in his Punisher gear, raising his gun and firing straight toward the camera.

Who’s in the cast of The Punisher: One Last Kill?

Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher in 'The Punisher: One Last Kill'.

Marvel/Disney+

As of this writing, the cast of *One Last Kill *remains mostly a mystery outside of Bernthal and Moore.

Speaking with EW, Winderbaum praised Bernthal's involvement in the character's evolution, hailing him as a "generational actor" and saying he understands Frank inside and out.

"I love Punisher, but I love Jon's Punisher in particular," he said. "The idea that he's in the MCU and can bring that to the greater universe, especially the more grounded street-level stuff, is a huge opportunity and, as a fan, the greatest thing ever."

When does *The Punisher: One Last Kill *premiere?

Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) wearing his Punisher gear in 'The Punisher: One Last Kill'.

Marvel/Disney+

*The Punisher: One Last Kill* will blast onto Disney+ on Tuesday, May 12.

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